By Christy Tamai
The Plateau State Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU) Project Coordinating Unit has concluded a five-day in-house simulation training on the Community Operations Manual (COM), aimed at strengthening staff capacity ahead of its rollout to Ward Facilitators and communities across the state.
The training, held at the Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA) Hall in Jos, was designed to familiarise staff with the procedures, guidelines and operational requirements for effective implementation of the NFWP-SU at the state, local government, ward and community levels.
Speaking during the exercise, the State Project Coordinator, Barr. Nanret Agaba, said the training was particularly important in preparing staff for the successful cascading of the COM to Ward Facilitators recently recruited for the three pilot Local Government Areas of Mangu, Mikang and Jos South.
She explained that the Ward Facilitators would have a critical responsibility in supervising and training Women Affinity Groups (WAGs), while ensuring that the core principles and objectives of the NFWP-SU are effectively implemented at the grassroots.
In his welcome remarks, the Head of Operations, Mr. Rayandy Kim Chuwang, urged staff to maximise the opportunity provided by the training to deepen their understanding of the project and build the capacity required for effective community-level delivery.
The Community Institution Building (CIB) Advisor, Mr. Musa Manmina, assigned roles and responsibilities to participants and guided them through practical exercises based on the Community Operations Manual.
The sessions were highly interactive, with participants contributing ideas, asking questions and identifying potential implementation challenges, while developing practical solutions ahead of the planned community-level training.
Key areas covered included an overview of the NFWP-SU project, the purpose and application of the Community Operations Manual, project implementation procedures, roles and responsibilities of Ward Facilitators, NFWP safeguards and the Do No Harm Approach.
Participants also undertook practical simulations of Women Affinity Group meetings, giving staff hands-on experience of the processes and activities they are expected to facilitate when the COM training is cascaded to Ward Facilitators and subsequently to communities.
The five-day exercise is expected to strengthen staff preparedness, promote uniformity in project implementation and enhance the capacity of the Plateau NFWP-SU team to effectively deliver its interventions across the pilot communities.
With the next phase focused on cascading the Community Operations Manual to Ward Facilitators, the training marks another step towards strengthening community structures and ensuring that the NFWP-SU achieves its objectives at the grassroots.
